The Former French President Preparing to Release Prison Memoir Documenting His 20 Days In Custody
The ex-president of France will soon publish a book in the coming weeks called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time spent behind bars.
The revelation emerged shortly following the former president was released as he contests the court ruling related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to obtain presidential race money from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the memoir is more about his thoughts during solitary confinement rather than extensive analysis of the packed and struggling French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, not present at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world grows stronger behind bars.”
Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle
At his release request hearing, he participated via screen from a room in prison, describing his time inside as draining. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal bearable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it due to its intensity.”
First of Its Kind
Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail.
Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time to compose an account.
Books in Prison
It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated later flees to take revenge.
Prison Conditions
Sarkozy remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a cell roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.
It was stated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.
Defense Viewpoint
His attorney, who saw him regularly every day throughout the jail term, informed the court his safety would improve outside jail compared to inside. “He has faced threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Charges and Sentence
His incarceration began last month when a French court gave him five years in prison on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to obtain election financing for his 2007 presidential race.
He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial set for early next year.